Past recipients

ACU Fellowships are awarded to staff of member institutions, to enable them to travel overseas for short periods of research, collaboration and training. 

2018 recipients

Dr Kwaku Appiah-Kubi from University for Development Studies in Ghana is a recipient of the Oxford University Fellowship. Dr Appiah-Kubi’s work is focused on establishing a West African Centre for Cancer Research.

Atiqah Aziz from the University of Malaya in Malaysia has been awarded the Swansea University Fulton Fellowship. Her research at Swansea University in the UK will focus on the effect of Malaysian Traditional Medicine products on the treatment of Head & Neck Squamous Cells Carcinoma (HNSCC).

Dr Louis Jinot Belle from the Open University of Mauritius and Dr Purity Muthima from Kenyatta University in Kenya are recipients of the ACU-BNET Fellowships in Education. They will be travelling to Bayero University Kano in Nigeria.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Fellowship awarded to Dr Ho-Yu Cheng from The Chinese University of Hong Kong will enable a visit to Edinburgh Napier University in the UK, for work relating to PTSD suffered by stroke victims and their carers.

The George Weston Limited Fellowship awarded to Professor Oluwatosin Ademola Ijabadeniyi from Durban University of Technology in South Africa will enable him to travel to University of Manitoba in Canada to undertake research into the use of natural antimicrobials to control food borne pathogens in fresh produce.

Dr Siti Salwa Binti Mohd Ishak from Universiti Sains Malaysia has been awarded the Jacky McAleer Memorial Fellowship. Her visit to University of Auckland in New Zealand will focus on Building Information Modelling (BIM) for engineering, building and construction programmes.

The Gordon and Jean Southam Fellowship received by Dr Rosemary Lysaght from Queen’s University in Canada will support her visit to University of Sydney in Australia for collaborative research into the payment of incremental wages to workers with lower productive capacity.

Dr Fatihiya Massawe from Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania has been awarded the Martha Farrell Memorial Fellowship. This fellowship supports the establishment of effective university policies to combat sexual harassment and gender-based violence.

Dr Oluwafemi Sarumi’s visit to the University of Manitoba as part of the University of Manitoba Fellowship will focus on big data for genomics. Dr Sarumi is from The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.

Dr Joong Hiong Sim from the University of Malaya in Malaysia has been awarded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Fellowship to travel to The Chinese University of Hong Kong for work focused on bioethics.

The Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Fellowship has been granted to Dr Md Abdus Sobhan from Northumbria University in the UK. Dr Sobhan will be visiting Dhaka University for work focused on the adoption of Integrated Reporting in Bangladesh.

Professor Stephanus Terblanche from North-West University in South Africa has been awarded the Wighton Fellowship in Engineering for a research visit to Dalhousie University in Canada, focused on the development of optimisation and machine learning models in order to improve rural health care delivery.

Applications for 2019 Fellowships will open in March 2019.

2017-2018

Professor Zulkifli Ahmad from Universiti Sains Malaysia was awarded the Swansea University Fulton Fellowship to travel to Swansea University, UK for a period of collaborative research into the fabrication of stretchable electronic devices.

Dr Shamim Akhter from Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Pakistan gained the George Weston Limited Fellowship for a research visit to the Royal Veterinary College, University of London UK, focused on the development of advanced in vitro fertilization assays for the prediction of bull fertility.

Dr Heather Aldersey from Queen's University, Canada was awarded the Gordon and Jean Southam Fellowship to travel to University of Cape Town, South Africa for research into family support and family quality of life in intellectual disability.

Dr Helen Yue Lai Chan from The Chinese University of Hong Kong received the Hong Kong Jockey Club Fellowship (Outward) to travel to Queen's University Belfast, UK for a period of collaborative research into palliative care.

Paul Denny from University of Auckland, New Zealand was awarded the Jacky McAleer Memorial Fellowship to travel to the University of Toronto and McMaster University, Canada for research into computer-assisted learning.

Professor Opha Pauline Dube from University of Botswana gained the University of Oxford Fellowship for a research visit to University of Oxford, UK focused on environmental change and management.

Dr Suranga Kodithuwakku from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka was awarded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Fellowship (Inward) to travel to the University of Hong Kong for a period of collaborative research into the effects of endocrine disruptive chemicals on reproductive functions.

David Obada from Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria gained the Wighton Fellowship in Engineering for a research visit to University of Birmingham, focused on the testing of low-cost internal combustion engine catalysts.

Dr Nacanieli Rika from University of the South Pacific was awarded the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Fellowship to travel to University of New South Wales, Australia for a period of collaborative work into public sector auditing and Indigenous accounting.

Dr Godiraono Tatolo from University of Botswana received the University of Manitoba Fellowship for a research visit to University of Manitoba, Canada focused on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

Professor Carmen Wickramagamage from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka was awarded the Martha Farrell Memorial Fellowship in order to receive training and support from the Martha Farrell Foundation in India to introduce an effective anti-sexual harassment initiative at her home institution.

2016-2017

Dr Jacob Agbenorhevi at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science And Technology (KNUST), Ghana, has been jointly awarded The George Weston Limited, Canada, Fellowship. Dr Agbenorhevi will visit the University of Huddersfield, UK, to continue his collaborative research into the okra plant.

Dr Sobia Baig at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan has been awarded The Wighton Fellowship in Engineering. Dr Baig's fellowship at Lancaster University, UK, will look at powerline communication and its utilisation in smart grid communications, with the aim of improving energy conservation measures in Pakistan.

Dr Shadreck Chirikure at the University of Cape Town, South Africa has been awarded The University of Oxford Fellowship. Dr Chirikure's fellowship will develop his existing work on archaeological material analysis, with a focus on the metallurgy of iron age crucibles recovered from the ruined city of Great Zimbabwe.

Dr Sujata Dash at North Orissa University, India, has been jointly awarded The University of Manitoba Fellowship. Dr Dash will undertake research into high-level algorithmic frameworks for big data analytics, which aim to provide a better understanding of clinical data used in cancer research.

Dr Sofie De Meyer at Murdoch University, Australia, has been jointly awarded The George Weston Limited, Canada, Fellowship. Dr De Meyer will visit the University of Cape Town, South Africa, to investigate the root nodule bacteria of lebeckia – a South African legume – using soil analysis to better understand its survival.

Professor Heather Lotherington at York University, Canada, has been jointly awarded The Gordon and Jean Southam Fellowship. Professor Lotherington will visit Curtin University, Australia, to explore mobile language learning for culturally and linguistically diverse learners.

Dr George Okwadha at the Technical University of Kenya has been awarded The Swansea University Fulton Fellowship. Dr Okwadha's fellowship will explore the use of alternative materials for the concrete industry, ultimately aiming to promote the use of sustainable materials.

Dr Anna Pienkowski at MacEwan University, Canada, has been jointly awarded The Gordon and Jean Southam Fellowship. Dr Pienkowski will visit Bangor University, UK, to gain an in-depth understanding of sclerochronology, the marine counterpart to the study of tree rings. 

Mohammad Mojibur Rahman at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh is the first recipient of the newly establised The Martha Farrell Memorial Fellowship. Mr Rahman will receive training and support from the Martha Farrell Foundation in India to instigate an effective anti-sexual harassment initiative at his home institution.

Professor JA Gareth Williams at Durham University, UK, has been jointly awarded The University of Manitoba Fellowship. Dr Williams' research looks at selected platinum and copper-containing molecules that have relevance to contemporary applications, such as low-energy lighting and solar energy conversion.

Find out more about this year's Fellows

2015-2016

Derek Chadee from University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago has been awarded the University of Manitoba Fellowship to establish the first Caribbean-Canadian research agenda on fear of crime. 

Dr Murray Cox from Massey University, New Zealand, will be working with academics at St John's College. He was jointly awarded the University of Oxford Fellowship for research into genetics and infectious diseases. 

Dr Sara McClean from the University of South Australia was jointly awarded the University of Oxford Fellowship for research into foster parenting of vulnerable children.

Dr Ann Galloway from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand was jointly awarded the George Weston Limited, Canada, Fellowship. Dr Galloway will be working with academics at the University of Exeter, where she will focus on humane slaughter methods. 

Dr Manisha Gunasekara from University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka was awarded the Wighton Fellowship in Engineering, which will see her working with colleagues at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, to develop her laboratory teaching methods.

Md Anwarul Islam from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh received the Jacky McAleer Memorial Fellowship for research work into cloud-based technologies at the University of British Colombia in Canada.

Dr Niranjalie Perera from Wayamba University of Sri Lanka was jointly awarded the George Weston Limited, Canada, Fellowship - she will undertake research work at the University of Reading, to see whether fat-free frying methods can replace deep fat frying.  

Dr David Phipps from York University Ontario, Canada used the Gordon and Jean Southam Fellowship to travel to Coventry University, UK, and develop 'knowledge broker competencies'. 

Dr Helen Rawson from Deakin University, Australia is this year's Swansea University Fulton Fellowship awardee, her research focuses on developing best practice care for ethnic elderly patients. 

Find out more about this year's Fellows

2014-2015

Dr Juliet Daniel from McMaster University, Canada was the 2014-15 Gordon and Jean Southam Fellowship recipient, which enabled her to pursue collaborative research into the genetic determinants of breast cancer in women of African descent at the University of the West Indies, Barbados. 

Lim Hong Ngee from Universiti Putra Malaysia: awarded the Wighton Fellowship in Engineering to undertake research in immunosensing at the University of Bath, UK

Dr Zubaidah Ismail from University of Malaya, Malaysia: awarded the Swansea University Fulton Fellowship for a study into condition monitoring of rotary machinery. 

Fidelis Okwuosa from University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria received the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Fellowship to develop an accounts reconciliation solution at Valley View University, Ghana.

Joan Ostaszkiewicz from Deakin University, Australia was awarded the University of Manitoba Fellowship for research in continence care and bladder, bowel and pelvic floor disorders. 

Sharifah Syed Ismail from University of Malaya, Malaysia was awarded the University of Oxford Fellowship.

Ammar Zia Ud Din from COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan was awarded the Jacky McAleer Memorial Fellowship for research work in IT processes and systems at Lancaster University, UK.

Read more about 2014-2015 Fellows here

2013-2014

Beverley-Anne Carter from University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago was awarded the University of Oxford Fellowship. 

Beverly Heath-London from University of Guyana received the University of Manitoba Fellowship.

Chamila Jayasinghe from Wayamba University of Sri Lanka was awarded the George Weston Limited, Canada, Fellowship for research work at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Craig Kaplan from University of Waterloo, Canada was awarded the Gordon and Jean Southam Fellowship for research work at University College London, UK. 

Becky Loo from the University of Hong Kong was the joint University of Oxford Fellowship recipient. 

Vernon Louw from University of the Free State, South Africa was awarded the Jacky McAleer Memorial Fellowship for research work at University of British Colombia, Canada. 

Narayana Yerol from Mangalore University, India was awarded the Wighton Fellowship in Engineering for research work at the University of Stirling, UK.